On Apr 14, 1:05*pm, "Joe J" wrote:
"Frank" wrote in message

...





On 4/14/2011 11:37 AM, Joe J wrote:
Still getting estimates on paving the remainder of my driveway. Latest
concrete guy comes in and says they no longer use wire mesh, it ends up
rusting and then popping the concrete, so they mix a fiber mesh right
into the concrete before they pour it. 4 inches.

I'm skeptical, but not against new technology. Any opinions because I've
never heard of this, or seen it. I've always just seen wire mesh laid
down.

Called 4 asphalt contractors and not one has returned my calls so far. I
thought contractors and the economy are hurting?
3 concrete guys so far. Two with wire mesh and the above mentioned guy..
Two at 4" and one at 5".

Thanks,

Some contractors are busy.

I had spoken to my asphalt guy last year and checked him out.
Then a week ago he popped up and said he was doing a neighborhood road
near us and we could get a special deal while all his equipment was here.
Four of us out of the 20 houses in our neighborhood took him up on it.

Last year, at this time, it was my tree guy. *He was really backed up..

I think while new construction is way down, lot of contractors are busy
with repairs and upgrades for us folks that are not moving.

Can't answer your concrete question but do know a bit about fiber
reinforced composites. *Concrete has good compressive strength but poor
tensile strength and is better when reinforced. *Is there a difference
between wire mesh and rebar?

Yes, wire mesh is just that. Basicly heavy gauge wire arranged
in a cross pattern, resulting in squares that are a few inches across.
It comes rolled up.

Rebar is steel rods about 1/2" in diameter.


*I would think that if rebar were used, it
would take many years to rust to the point of uselessness.

It isn't that the rebar has to disintegrate so that the rebar has no
strength left for the problems to occur. If water makes it's way
into the concrete over time, the steel rusts and expands. That
can cause the concrete to then start to crack. That's probably what
the
contractor was referring to in recommending the fiber concrete
vs using mesh or rebar. Of course for the contractor,
eliminating the steel reinforcement saves time, money, etc and
lets him come in at a lower bid. Any many people won't be
aware enough to even know to question the difference.

Not sure in what applications you can get away with just using
the fiber reinforced concrete. Or the exact tradeoffs. But it's
been
around a long time and is widely used. My stamped concrete
patio was done using it.




*I had pinned
some concrete bumpers with rebar to the back of my drive over 30 years ago
and when moved for the new driveway, the rebar was still intact.

I might have intermixed the terms. *One guy said rebar, the other wire mesh.
I assumed they were the same thing.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -